Music storage compartment



Oct. 5, 1965 R. E. DEWART MUSIC STORAGE COMPARTMENT Filed Feb. 21, 1963 INVENTOR. RANDALL E. DEWART 5 firm/,

ATTO R N EY United States Patent 3,210,142 MUSIC STORAGE COMPARIMENT Randall E. Dewart, Milford, Ind., assignmto Mutschler Brothers Company, Nappanee, Ind, a corporation of Indiana Filed Feb. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 260,150 3 Claims. (Cl. 312-213) This invention relates to improvements in music storage compartments, and particularly to compartments for storing musical instruments.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a compartment construction wherein individual compartments are provided with metallic grillwork doors whereby noise in music practice rooms is mufiied, damped or deadened and reverberation is reduced during music practice sessions and wherein musical instruments are provided with ventilation while stored.

A further object is to provide a compartment which is inexpensive in construction, strong and pilfer proof and wherein door hinges are substantially inaccessible to tampering when locked.

A further object is to provide a compartment with a metallic grille door bearing against rubber abutments which absorb vibration of the door and prevent the noise of slamming during closing of the door.

A further object is to provide a compartment of this character with hasp means apertured to accommodate a padlock, wherein the apertures are provided with rubber grommets to prevent noise due to vibration when padlocked.

A further object is to provide a compartment with metal grille work doors to which hasp and hinge parts are welded for lost cost, strong and pilfer proof construction, and wherein the hasp serves as a spring to retain the door closed.

A further object is to provide a compartment of this character wherein walls and compartments are formed of wood and the edges of the structure are protected by metal trim parts which may also support some of the wood parts and which support rubber bumpers.

Other objects will be apparent from the following specification.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cabinet providing a plurality of compartments for storage of musical instruments and utilizing a construction constituting an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view illustrating one compartment construction to which a padlock illustrated in dotted lines is applied;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged horizontal detail sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical fragmentary sectional view taken on line 66 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates one embodiment of the invention, the numeral 10 designates a compartmented storage structure or cabinet for the storage of musical instruments, such as clarinets, oboes, piccolos,

3,210,142 Patented Oct. 5, 1965 flutes, Saxophones, cornets, trumpets, bassoons, violins, Violas, trombones, French horns, mellophones, drums and bass viols. The cabinet has a back 12, bottom 14, top 16, and vertical spaced sides and partitions 18, all of which are preferably formed of wood or composition panel material such as is commonly known in the art as hardboard. Horizontal panels 20, which are preferably panels of wood or hardboard but which may be of metal grillwork, span the space between adjacent vertical parts 18 which define the sides and vertical partitions of the cabinet to define individual compartments in the cabinet open at their front. The various wooden parts of the structure are secured together to define a rigid unitary structure by any suitable means, such as screws or other securing members, or by cemented bonds between interfitting parts.

The exposed edges of the cabinet-forming members, such as 14, 16 and 18, may be provided with protective facing members, such as metal members 24, which may be of T-shape in cross-section having a flange 26 fitting in a kerf at the center of the front edge of a cabinet member, such as members 18 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, to be anchored thereto as by cement or the use of securing means (not shown). Where wooden panels form the horizontal shelves or compartment dividers 20, the front edges thereof may be encased in metal channel members 28 at whose ends are formed flanges 30 which bear against adjacent vertical panels 18 and are secured thereto by screws or other securing members 32, as illustrated in FIG. 6. The channels 28 preferably have apertures at spaced points along the length thereof in which are anchored rubber buttons or abutment members 34.

The cabinet is provided with closures for the various compartments thereof, including metal grillwork closures for all or a substantial proportion of said compartments' The metal grillwork closures constitute a panel having a rectangular frame bent from round steel bar stock having upright runs 40 and horizontal runs 42, said frame constituting a strong unitary structure free from vibration and with the ends of the frame defining bars welded together. A plurality of spaced cross bars 44 extend across the frame in close spaced relation and preferably parallel and are welded at their ends to the frame, as at part 42 thereof as illustrated. If desired, a center plate 46 may be welded at selected cross bars 44 to reinforce and interconnect the same and also to provide a carrier for a name plate or the like. In order to insure that the grillwork will be sufiiciently rigid as to be free from vibration by sound, the frame parts 40, 42 are preferably formed of 1/0 gauge bars and the crossbar-s 44 are preferably formed of 5- gauge bar stock.

The door or grill member is pivoted at one marginthereof to the cabinet by means of hinges. Each hinge includes a hinge plate 50 which is secured to a vertical compartment wall 18 by securing members, such as screws 52, and which project outwardly from the front of'the compartment or cabinet and carries a hinge pintle 54. The hinges are preferably of the multiple knuckle type, such as a five-knuckle hinge. The other hinge plate 56 has knuckle portions 58 which encircle the hinge pintle and terminates in an arcuate end 60 which fits around the adjacent upright frame bar 40 and is welded thereto. By reason of the construction and arrangement of the hinge with the welding of the plate 56 to the grille and the location of the hinge-securing members 52 within the compartment and behind the grille, and by reason of close spacing of the cross bars 44, it will be apparent that the hinges are substantially inaccessible and tamper proof.

A latch plate 62 is secured to a vertical member 18 of the cabinet at each compartment and is secured in place by screws or other securing members 64 interiorly of the plane occupied by the front door or grillwork panel when in closed position. The plate 62 extends forwardly and is preferably outwardly offset at 66 in spaced relation from the front edge of the member 18 and has a terminal portion 68 provided with an aperture within which fits a rubber grommet member '70. With the latch plate 62 cooperates a hasp member. This hasp member is preferably formed of sheet metal and has an intermediate arcuate portion 72 which fits around and is welded to an upright frame member 40, and includes an inner terminal plate portion 74 which is preferably welded to one or more of the crossbars 44. A part 76 of the hasp extends outwardly from the frame into engagement with the outer part of the latch plate 62 to define a spring latch. The hasp plate is offset at 78 from the part 76 and is apertured to receive a rubber grommet 80 which is positioned substantially in register and alongside the grommet 70 when the door is in closed position as illustrated in FIG. 4. The hasp preferably terminates in an outturned door pull flange 82.

The parts are so proportioned and arranged that when the grille door is closed it is located Within the outline of the cabinet at the front of the compartment, as best seen in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, at least with respect to the main frame 40, 42 thereof, and the crossbars 44 are preferably located outwardly or outermost in the structure. One or more of the horizontal runs 42 of each grillwork door bear against the rubber buttons 34 of one or more of the shelves 20 to provide firm support and abutment for positioning of the door in its closed position. At the same time the spring latch part 76 of the hasp bears against the outer end of the latch plate 62 and frictionally holds the door closed, so that free swinging of the door is avoided. Closing of the door cannot produce any slamming sound by virtue of the provision of the rubber buttons 34. These rubber buttons also tend to absorb any vibration of the metal grille which might occur incident to movement of closing thereof. Of greatest importance in music practice rooms in schools and other buildings is the fact that the open grillwork construction of the door permits sound waves to pass therethrough and into the compartments where they are absorbed in the back wall 12 and the side walls 18 of the compartment and in the shelves or bottoms 20 in cases where the latter are formed of solid wooden material. This is to be distinguished from the reverberation which could occur in a room having cabinets with solid doors. While the bar stock of which the grillwork is formed is preferably sufiiciently large and rigid to be rendered free of response by vibration to sounds of orchestras and bands practicing in a room, it will also be apparent that the abutment of these grilles with the rubber abutment members 34 and the spring retention of the doors in closed position by the spring hasp part 76 further avoid reverberation. Similarly, if some of the doors are closed by padlocks, as illustrated in dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3, passing through the rubber grommets 70 and 80, reverberation cannot occur between the padlock and the door hasp because of such rubber grommets.

When the grillwork door is closed, the weld of both the hasp and the hinge to the grillwork and the location of the securing means for the hinge plate and the latch plate interiorly renders the doors substantially pilfer proof. At

4 the same time, the interior of each compartment is readily visible when the doors are locked, so that the presence of instruments in the compartments can be checked quickly and without unlocking or opening the doors. Thus, if an instrument is missing from a compartment, this can be detected instantly.

It will be apparent that, if desired, both the panels and the door panel may be formed of metal grillwork. Thus selected vertical partitions or horizontal shelf members may be formed of metal grillwork, if desired, as is readily apparent.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes in the construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim: 1. A unit for storing musical instruments in a music practice room, comprising a cabinet having non-metallic top, bottom, side and back panels and partitions defining a plurality of reverberation reducing compartments open at the front thereof, closures for at least some of said compartments, said closures including grilles formed of rigid metal bars welded together to form a unit substantially free from vibration in response to musical sounds, means hinging each closure to a vertical compartmentdefining part of said cabinet to be positioned at least partly within the outline of said cabinet when closed, latch means for normally frictionally holding said clo sure in closed position, and resilient abutment members carried by the front edge of at least one horizontal compartment-defining part of said cabinet for engagement with said closure grille in its closed position.

2. A unit for storing musical instruments in a music means hinging each closure to a vertical compartmentdefining part of said cabinet,

resilient abutment means carried by the front edge of at least one panel, latch means for normally frictionally holding said closure in closed position engaging said abutment means said latch means comprising a latch plate secured within said compartment and i projecting forwardly therefrom, and a hasp plate welded to at least two bars of said grille and having a resilient forwardly projecting part frictionally engaging said latch plate. 3. A unit for storing musical instruments in a music practice room, comprising a cabinet having non-metallic top, bottom, side and back panels and partitions defining a plurality of sound trapping compartments open at the front thereof, closures for at least some of said compartments,

said closures including grilles formed of rigid metal bars welded together to form a unit substantially free from vibration in response to musical sounds,

means hinging each closure to a vertical compartmentdefining part of said cabinet,

5 a resilient abutment member carried by a panel for abutment by said closure grill, when closed, latch means for normally frictionally holding said closure in closed position, said latch means comprising a latch plate secured within said compartment and projecting forwardly therefrom,

a hasp plate welded to said grille and having a bent spring part frictionally engaging a face of said latch plate,

said latch plate and hasp plate including spaced apertured end parts, and

resilient grommets lining the apertures of said end parts for reception of a part of a padlock.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 491,495 2/93 Ridell 312-329 918,899 4/09 Oliver 232-35 1,826,102 10/31 Towne 312-329 X 1,840,561 1/32 Miller -22019 X 2,536,941 1/51 Jones 292291 X 2,739,412 3/56 Ballonoff 16144 3,087,459 4/63 Dirck 312213 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,066,334 6/54 France.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner. 

1. A UNIT FOR STORING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN A MUSIC PRACTICE ROOM, COMPRISING A CABINET HAVING NON-METALLIC TOP, BOTTOM, SIDE AND BACK PANELS AND PARTITIONS DEFINING A PLURALITY OF REVERBERATION REDUCTING COMPARTMENTS OPEN AT THE FRONT THEREOF, CLOSURE FOR AT LEAST SOME OF SAID COMPARTMENTS, SAID CLOSURES INCLUDING GRILLES FORMED OF RIGID METAL BARS WELDED TOGETHER TO FORM A UNIT SUBSTANTIALLY FREE FROM VIBRATION IN RESPONSE TO MUSICAL SOUNDS, 